Recreational and commercial fishing frequently requires that a fishing line be joined to another fishing component, e.g., to a hook, to a lure, to a weight, to another fishing line, etc. The customary manner for effecting this joinder is by tying a knot in the fishing line, however, such knot-tying can be time-consuming and physically tiring, and/or can be difficult to effect in the dark and/or in cold or inclement weather conditions, and/or can create a “weak link” in the system (i.e., the knot may be weaker than the fishing line or the other fishing component which is being joined to the fishing line). In addition, where the fishing line is to be joined to another fishing line, it can be difficult to create a strong knot where the two fishing lines are of different sizes (e.g., where a large diameter fishing line is to be connected to a small diameter fishing line) and/or where the two fishing lines are of different compositions (e.g., where a monofilament fishing line is to be connected to a braided fishing line). In addition, knots can be bulky, and can affect fluid dynamics in water and aerodynamics in air.
For this reason, efforts have been made to use mechanical connectors (e.g., metal crimps) to join a fishing line to another fishing component, however, these mechanical connectors have generally proven unsatisfactory (e.g., they may be time-consuming to set, and/or they may be difficult to set reliably, particularly in the dark and/or in inclement weather conditions, and/or they may damage the fishing line, and/or they may have inferior holding strength, and/or they may be expensive, etc.). Where two monofilament fishing lines are to be joined, efforts have also been made to weld the two monofilament fishing lines together, but such welding has generally resulted in weakened line strength since welding disrupts the molecular arrays in the monofilament fishing lines, etc. In addition, such welding can be particularly problematic in harsh ocean conditions of the sort frequently encountered in commercial fishing endeavors.
As a result, it would be advantageous to have a new and improved method and apparatus for joining a fishing line to another fishing component (including another fishing line) which does not suffer from the deficiencies of the prior art.
In addition, it would also be advantageous to have a new and improved method and apparatus for adjusting the buoyancy of fishing components.
And it would also be advantageous to have a new and improved method and apparatus for cutting a fishing line.